Minnesota Wild need to show they can beat a playoff team

Minnesota Wild's Jason Pominville, center, celebrates his second goal against the Calgary Flames with, from left, Jonas Brodin, Ryan Suter, Matt Cullen and Jason Zucker in an April 15 game at Calgary, Alberta. (AP Photo/The Canadian Press, Larry MacDougal)

SAN JOSE, Calif. -- The Wild are back on the winning track.

With two wins in as many nights, the Wild leapfrogged the St. Louis Blues and are sixth in the Western Conference heading into a critical game against the fifth-seeded San Jose Sharks on Thursday night, April 18.

But is the recent success part of a short-lived illusion or a sign that the Wild have rediscovered the recipe that produced nine wins in 10 games in March?

Though players and coaches insist the magic is back after victories at Calgary and Edmonton, the numbers seem to indicate otherwise.

The Wild are 3-5-1 in nine games this month, and against playoff contenders they're 1-5-1. In games against teams at the bottom of the conference, the Flames and Oilers, they're 2-0.

Optimists will call it a small sample size and point to March wins over playoff-bound San Jose, Vancouver and Anaheim. But the numbers are not a good sign for a team with playoff aspirations.

The Wild have five games remaining in the regular season -- two against playoff teams (San Jose, Los Angeles) and three against bottom-feeders (Calgary, Edmonton, Colorado).

First things first, Minnesota needs to secure its spot in the playoffs. That likely will take three points, maybe four. But the Wild also need to prove they can beat a playoff team, starting Thursday night against the Sharks.

"We're excited for it," coach Mike Yeo said. "We had a tough one in there last game. We know we're playing well and they're playing well, so it'll be a good game.

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Fifteen days ago, when the teams last met in San Jose, Wild veteran Dany Heatley suffered a season-ending shoulder injury in a postgame dustup with Sharks players.

After Heatley skated off the ice, teammate Clayton Stoner pointed at San Jose players with his stick as he skated away.

It makes a big game even bigger.

"There's always emotion going into the game," Yeo said. "And whatever you can use to spur you in a positive way, I think that'll be there, but this time of year the focus is on getting two points."

That sentiment was echoed through the Wild locker room. After Tuesday's win in Edmonton, Wild players said during this stretch, two points are more important than sending a message about a fallen teammate.

"It's going to be a hard-fought game, that's for sure," said Kyle Brodziak, who scored twice against Edmonton Tuesday. "It's big. It always is with them. It will be a hard-nosed game.

"Whoever wants it more will get it. We've had a couple really good matchups with them. It's one of the toughest buildings to play in in the league."

San Jose has 53 points to Minnesota's 51. A Wild regulation win evens them up and puts Minnesota in great position heading home for three games.

"The teams that do well in the playoffs are climbing at the end," Brodziak said, "and the teams that don't are falling."

Aeros moving

An announcement that the Wild's American Hockey League affiliate, the Houston Aeros, is moving to Des Moines to become the Iowa Wild is expected Thursday, a source with knowledge of the situation told the Pioneer Press.

Overseers of the Toyota Center, where the Aeros play home games, decided they could make more money by hosting concerts and other events. After they informed the Wild that the rent would be raised for Aeros games, the Wild began a search for a new home that included Kansas City, Mo., and Wichita, Kan.